Prosthetic suspension liners have been described in prior patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,474 issued May 8, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,039 issued Oct. 24, 2000; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,776 issued Nov. 26, 2002. These liners may be fabricated of elastic or elasticized materials, and are used to cushion a post-operative stump or residual limb with respect to a prosthesis that is installed over the residual limb and coupled to the sleeve by a conventional locking element.
It is highly desirable that these liners conform closely with the residual limb, accommodate all surface contours and sub-surface bone elements of the residual limb, and provide a comfortable cushion between the residual limb and the hard socket of the prosthesis that is to be fitted over the residual limb.
Special silicone rubber or elastomer materials have been formulated as suitable substances for suspension liners. Such elastomer materials having an appropriate hardness (or softness), elongation, tensile, and other properties, such as bio-inertness (resulting in no skin reaction), have been successfully used for suspension liners.
Much like liners, orthotic or prosthetic sleeves are provided for supporting and reinforcing muscles, joints, and extremities of those in need of assistance, and moreover provide an airtight seal between a residual limb of an amputee and a prosthesis socket worn by the amputee. Moreover, such sleeves are not limited to use for amputees but may be applied to existing limbs to provide support in a manner associated with conventional orthotic devices. Orthotic and prosthetic sleeves of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,539 issued Jul. 15, 2003.
These sleeves may be similarly fabricated of elastic or elasticized materials as in liners. Typically, these sleeves are formed by joining sections of elasticized fabric shaped in tubular form and joined at their axial ends to form a tubular sleeve extending in an axial direction. The sleeves may be cylindrical, curved or possess other anatomically conforming shapes.
While effective solutions have been proposed and implemented, it is still highly desirable to improve comfort of such liners or sleeves to ever so increase their ability to conform to irregularities on a residual limb, to accommodate a wider variety of limbs with fewer sizes of liners, and provide an amputee with enhanced comfort at a residual limb interface with a prosthesis while maintaining sufficient strength and durability. Moreover, it is particularly desirable to provide a liner or sleeve wherein means is made available which distributes pressure of the liner against a prosthesis while providing superior stretchability over known liners and sleeves.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need to provide improved liners and sleeves that impart improved comformability, pressure distribution, and stretchability while maintaining sufficient durability and strength for their requisite applications.